Hockey Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Junior Hockey League, announced the 22 players that will represent Canada West at the 2014 World Junior A Challenge, December 14 – 20 in Kindersley, Saskatchewan. Six (6) BC natives made the team:

Name

Position

Hometown

Current Team

Viktor Dombrovskiy

D

Coquitlam

Prince George (BCHL)

Dante Fabbro

D

Coquitlam

Penticton (BCHL)

Carmine Buono

D

Burnaby

Powell River (BCHL)

Tyson Jost

F

Kelowna

Penticton (BCHL)

Demico Hannoun

F

North Delta

Penticton (BCHL)

Marcus Vela

F

Burnaby

Langley (BCHL)

Dombrovskiy, who grew up playing in the Coquitlam Minor Hockey Association and for the Burnaby Winter Club, played major midget with the Vancouver Northeast Chiefs before joining the BCHL. He began this season with the Trail Smoke Eaters before getting traded to the Prince George Spruce Kings, and has two (2) goals and 15 assists in 21 games. Next season, he will play at Harvard University.

Fabbro grew up playing for the Burnaby Winter Club, and played with the Vancouver Northeast Chiefs before joining the Penticton Vees. In his first BCHL season, he has three (3) goals and 15 assists in 22 games. He was selected by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the first round of the 2013 Western Hockey League draft.

Buono also played for the Burnaby Winter Club before joining the Vancouver Northwest Giants (MML) and then the Powell River Kings. In hist first year in the league, he has tallied one (1) goal and 11 assists for a total of 12 points in 24 games.

Jost grew up outside Edmonton before moving to Kelowna to attend the Pursuit of Excellence hockey academy. He later joined the Okanagan Rockets (MML), and joined the Penticton Vees for his first BCHL season. The 16 year old has had a great first season in the league, posting 11 goals and 14 assists for a total of 25 points in 24 games.

Hannoun played in the North Delta Minor Hockey Association before joining the Greater Vancouver Canadians (MML) and then the Surrey Eagles (BCHL). This year, playing with the Penticton Vees, he has 16 goals and 12 assists in 30 games. Next season, he will play NCAA Division I hockey at Michigan Tech.

Vela played in the Burnaby Minor Hockey Association before joining the Vancouver Northwest Giants (MML) and then the Langley Rivermen. Now in his second year in the league, Vela has five (5) goals and 19 assists in 28 games. He will play hockey at the University of New Hampshire next year.

Players named to the Canada West roster were selected from the CJHL’s five western Junior A leagues: the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) and Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL).

The roster was chosen by Canada West head coach Trent Cassan (Yorkton, SJHL) along with assistant coaches Marc Berry (Dauphin, MJHL), Tim Fragle (Sherwood Park, AJHL) and Luke Pierce (Merritt, BCHL), and director of hockey operations Andrew Boutilier following a three (3) day selection camp at the Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary.

Canada West will play in Group B at the 2014 World Junior A Challenge, joined by Denmark and Russia, while Canada East, Switzerland and the United States will comprise Group A.